S. 120 mm tank shell resulted, on average, in approximately five pounds of radioactive Uranium
Oxide dust. Likewise, each of the nearly one million 25 mm and 30 mm canon shells fired (mostly) by U.S. aircraft contributes a proportional share of Uranium Oxide dust per unit volume (Peterson, 2003).
Unlike the depleted Uranium itself (which emits mainly Alpha particles), the Uranium Oxide produced by the intense explosive heat of ordinance impact releases both Alpha particles as well as much more dangerously radioactive Beta particles (Fahey, 2000). Another very disturbing finding after the 1991 Gulf War was that Uranium Oxide aerosolized into extremely minute particles capable of ingestion both orally by physical transference, and by inhalation (Peterson, 2003).
Furthermore, several studies undertaken in the affected areas established that radioactive dust produced by the use of DU ammunition was capable of remaining airborne long enough to travel up to forty kilometers, thereby contaminating large areas of land populated by civilians (Fahey, 1999). Predictably, civilian medical records, both in the Middle East and in Europe illustrate the environmental harm posed by use of DU ammunition in wartime. The most recent data from Iraq in the aftermath of Operation
Iraqi Freedom only further corroborate those earlier findings (Peterson, 2003).
Environmental Observations After Wartime Use of Depleted Uranium Munitions:
Alarmingly, the U.S. undertook no effort, either during the 1991 Gulf War or the subsequent NATO engagements in Bosnia or Kosovo, to warn local civilian populations of the dangers associated with radioactive contamination from expended ordinance (Fahey, 1999). Similarly, according to the Christian Science Monitor (2003), Iraqi civilians routinely come into contact with Intact fragments of expended 120 mm U.S.
A tank shells and 30 mm ammunition. More disturbing than the radiation readings one thousand times normal level of background radiation in the proximity of the remnants of U.S. DU ordinance is the complete lack of awareness among the populace of the dangers of radioactive Uranium Oxide dust on their food harvests. On the other hand, U.S. troops are warned "constantly" of the dangers of contact with radioactive fragments, and of the pressing need to avoid accidentally ingesting fine particles indirectly through physical transference (Peterson, 2003).
Consequently, Iraqi children handle and play with artillery fragments and almost certainly ingest radioactive particles internally, both via contaminated food and also via inhalation. Numerous instances of radiation poisoning and dramatic increases in birth defects and infant mortality not attributable to any other conceivable source in Iraq (Peterson, 2003) have demonstrated the aftereffects of widespread, uncontrolled dispersion of so much depleted Uranium.
Cancers of all types, including Leukemia and lymphomas have more than quintupled in Iraq since 1991, with comparable rises in mutations and birth defect observed in livestock and other indigenous animals (Fahey, 1999).
The graph immediately below represents congenital malformations per 1,000 births recorded at Basra Hospital, in an area heavily affected by the use of DU ammunition in Operation Iraqi Freedom. (Wilcock, 2004)
In this regard, additional evidence came in the form of U.S. And British troops with both acute radiation poisoning and characteristic symptoms of radiation sickness (Fahey, 1999). The data consists of survivors of friendly fire incidents involving DU munitions, and also troops who were often exposed to aerosolized radioactive particles in conjunction with their post-hostility security assignments and the forensic examination of the wreckage of Iraqi armor. Similar observations of NATO personnel and citizens of the Balkan states afflicted with mysterious symptoms following the use of DU ammunition in the Bosnian conflict provide additional confirmation.
One of the most insidious aspects of DU ammunition in civilian areas is the extreme ease with which radioactive Uranium Oxide dissolves in liquid, including water eventually used for drinking (USDE, 2007). Combined with the extremely long half- lives of the radioactive isotopes involved, the prediction for the future of civilian health in areas heavily subjected to wartime deployment of DU ordinance is ominous.
Conclusion:
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